Sports briefs: April 27

The NFL and the players' union were in a holding pattern Tuesday, the day after a federal judge ended a 45-day lockout. Small groups of players showed up at team facilities and were allowed inside, but couldn't work out. Most left in a matter of minutes.

League operations were left in limbo when U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson said she wouldn't rule on the NFL's request for a stay of her order until at least Wednesday. She said she wanted to hear from players — even as attorneys for players asked her to clarify the order.

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"It's very chaotic for the teams right now," agent Drew Rosenhaus said. "It's not chaotic for the players. Our position is the lockout is over, free agency should begin, signings should begin, off-season workouts should begin, everything should be going on. The longer the NFL doesn't do that and drags this out, the more there are concerns of collusion and violations of antitrust laws."

Washington Redskins wide receiver Anthony Armstrong and linebacker Lorenzo Alexander were met by General Manager Bruce Allen and told they could come in but not work out. Both left after a few minutes. "It was a little weird," Armstrong said. "It felt like you were sneaking into the club or something like that, and they knew you weren't supposed to be in there but they hadn't done anything about it yet. Just a little awkward."

Sayers to accept award in Lexington

Gale Sayers, one of the most accomplished running backs in NFL history, will come to Lexington in June to receive the Blanton Collier Award for Integrity on and off the field at the ninth annual Kentucky Chapter of the National Football League Hall of Fame ceremony at the Lexington Opera House. Sayers also will be guest of honor at a gala reception to be held at The Lyric Theater. The reception is Thursday, June 23. The Hall of Fame ceremony is Friday, June 24.

Proceeds from the June 23 event will benefit Sayers' after-school program in Chicago, The Lyric and the Blanton Collier Sportsmanship Group.

Sayers, who played his entire NFL career in the 1960s and '70s with the Chicago Bears, is a member of both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. He joins such luminaries as Jim Brown (2010) and Tony Dungy (2009) as recipients of the Blanton Collier Award, which was established by the Kentucky Chapter of the National Football League Hall of Fame to pay tribute to Blanton Collier, the Kentucky native and former University of Kentucky and Cleveland Browns coach.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Davis tops Scout.com's final rankings

University of Kentucky signee Anthony Davis finished No. 1 in Scout.com's rankings for the Class of 2011. The 6-foot-11, 200-pound power forward out of Chicago edged out Duke signee Austin Rivers for the top spot. Davis is one of four future Wildcats to finish in the top 25. Wing forward Michael Gilchrist was next at No. 5, Marquis Teague finished seventh and Kyle Wiltjer was 22nd.

Point guard Ryan Harrow is transferring after one season at North Carolina State. N.C. State Coach Mark Gottfried said he would release Harrow to any school except any of the Wolfpack's fellow Atlantic Coast Conference members.

Harrow, who is rumored to be interested in Kentucky, made 10 starts during his freshman season while playing in 29 games and ranking seventh in the ACC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.9. He also averaged 9.3 points and was a 87 percent free-throw shooter.

Richard Pitino returns to U of L staff

Rick Pitino didn't look far to revamp his coaching staff. The Louisville coach rehired son Richard Pitino on Tuesday, two years after Richard left to join Billy Donovan's staff at Florida. "It's great to have Richard back, it takes pressure off us preparation wise," Pitino said.

Richard Pitino will be joined on the staff by Wyking Jones, who comes to Louisville after spending two seasons at New Mexico working for Steve Alford.

■ Rick Pitino said he doesn't expect Terrence Jennings to be back next season. The 6-foot-9 junior forward has declared for the NBA Draft but has not signed with an agent, leaving him eligible to return. "In my mind, he's not coming back," Pitino said.

NHL PLAYOFFS

Flyers win 5-2 to eliminate Sabres

Brian Boucher stopped 25 shots and the Philadelphia Flyers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of their first-round series on Tuesday night. The Flyers raced to a 4-0 lead and chased Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller in the third. Braydon Coburn, Danny Briere, James van Riemsdyk and Ville Leino all scored against Miller.

■ Brian Gionta and Michael Cammalleri scored during two separate two-man advantages and the Montreal Canadiens forced a decisive Game 7 in their first-round playoff series with a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins. Game 7 is Wednesday night in Boston.

ETC.

Official: Lewis can't run for N.J. Senate

New Jersey's top election official ruled Tuesday that nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis is ineligible to run for state Senate because he failed to meet the four-year state residency requirement for candidates seeking elected office. Secretary of State Kim Guadagno ordered Lewis' name to be stricken from the June Democratic primary ballot. Lewis' attorney Bill Tambussi said the decision by Guadagno, a Republican, will be appealed.

Guadagno, who is also New Jersey's lieutenant governor under Gov. Chris Christie, noted that Lewis said he filed taxes in California, was registered to vote there and has business offices there. He owns a home in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Guadagno rejected an administrative law judge's recommendation that Lewis be allowed to stay in the race to represent the state's south-central region.

Lewis, 49, grew up in New Jersey and has owned homes in the state since 2005. He has been a volunteer track coach at the public high school in his hometown of Willingboro since 2007, and he has a valid New Jersey driver's license.

Woods hurt knee at Masters

Tiger Woods has a minor injury to his left knee and Achilles' tendon that will keep him out of the Wells Fargo Championship next week. Woods said on his Web site Tuesday that he hurt himself hitting a shot during the third round of the Masters. It's the fourth time he has missed a tournament because of his left knee. "This is precautionary. We're not at all concerned," said Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG. "He's just listening to his doctors, which is kind of nice. He certainly didn't listen to them before the U.S. Open in 2008."

The last word

Rex Ryan sounds the same as an author as he does as a coach: bold, brash and confident. The New York Jets coach's upcoming book, Play Like You Mean It, gives an entertaining glimpse into the man who has become one of the NFL's most colorful and controversial personalities. And — no shock here — he pulls no punches. One of those was for former first-round pick Vernon Gholston, who was released before the lockout. Ryan wrote:

"Truth be told, I didn't like the kid coming out of college. He's a good athlete and a smart guy, but I thought he was a phony."